Avatar Begins
by Starry Eyes 372
Summary: Republic City needs a hero. When a masked figure calling himself the Avatar appears and cleans up the streets of Republic City using all four styles of bending even darker criminals emerge from the darkness. Can the Avatar be the hero Republic City needs while keeping his alter ego a secret? Loosely follows the Batman/Dark Knight movies but has a different plot/includes the Joker
1. Chapter 1

_This is loosely based off of Batman Begins and the Dark Knight rises. This first Chapter will seem to basically just follow Batman begins but I plan to make Aang's return to Republic City different from Bruce Waynes. _

_The other characters of Avatar will appear soon so don't worry. I guess just bear with me for now. I can't remember every detail of Batman Begins so I might get some of it wrong but I'm kind of trying to take my own direction with it I guess. Ok well...thanks :) Comments and constructive criticisms appreciated. _

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Aang woke with a jolt. He had had that dream again. It was less of a dream and more of a dark memory, a memory that had haunted him since childhood.

He looked around at the stony, dark walls of his prison cell. How long had he been here? He had lost count of the days long ago. He lived in solitude at the prison, barely speaking to the other prisoners. He didn't belong here. Aang was from a different society. He was a foreigner here. The prisoners knew and disliked him for it. He watched them closely daring them to attack. He could fight. He was an airbending master. He could easily hold his ground against the nonbenders and the earthbenders in prison.

He shook his head still rattled by the dream. Aang squeezed his eyes tight in an effort to block out the haunting memory.

.

"Finders keepers!" Katara cried out as she ran through the Gyatso manor. Her dark hair flew behind her as she escaped into the green houses.

"No fair!" a young Aang called out as he followed her. Although an amateur airbender he used the air to propel him forward.

Aang caught up to Katara and stole the heart shaped rock they had found on the rocky drive way. "Hey!"Katara yelled after him.

Aang raced past as Katara pursued him. Aang loved playing with Katara. Even though she was their maid's daughter, she had become a sister to him. He didn't have siblings but Katara had filled the gap.

Aang continued to dash through the yard. As he passed over the old covered well he felt the wood was soft beneath his feet. Before he could propel himself off of the well he fell through the dark, musty hole. "Ahh!"

"Aang?"Katara called out from the top of the well. She could only see darkness below. "I'm going to get help!" she called down to him in a state of panic.

Aang didn't know how long he had been in the well. The darkness enveloped him. The unreachable light at the top of the well was a tease of hope. He wasn't powerful enough to muster a gust of air to send him out of the well.

Eventually he saw a dark figure hop into the well, gliding down to bottom cautiously. "Aang,"his father, Gyatso, said to comfort his son as he finally reached the scared young boy.

Aang grabbed a hold of his father, as Gyatso propelled the two to the top of the well with his expert airbending.

"Sir, I am so sorry, I was-" the maid, Kya, began before Gyatso shushed her. Katara hid behind her mother's blue dress looking worried. As they passed, Aang being carried by his father, Aang passed the heart shaped rock to Katara without saying a word.

Their reliable servant, Appa, met them as Gyatso carried his son through the doors. "Everything alright sir?" he asked.

"Yes, Aang just had a fall. Why do we fall, Aang?"

Aang stared wordlessly at his father.

"So we can get back up" Gyatso answered.

.

Aang exhaled sharply. The moment of misery had passed, but the darkness continued to surround his world. That had been so long ago. Fifteen, twenty years?

A fight broke out in the prison that day. Aang found himself caught in the middle. He had been correct in believing the other prisoners knew he was an outsider. It had been him in the middle of five earthbenders, four martial artists, and a firebender. Aang had easily defeated all of them. His dark mood drove his anger which he released on his attackers through his powerful gusts of wind.

The prison guards had quickly gotten involved once Aang hurled one of his last opponents across the muddy prison yard into the concrete wall.

He was sent to solitary confinement for "protection." Of course, the protection was not for his sake, it was to protect the others.

.

Once again he was in a sea of darkness. A small window with bars showed what little light the cell could boast. The cell reminded Aang of the well. He sighed knowing the memories would continue to haunt him.

"Impressive what you did out there," a voice came from the shadows.

Aang hurled around in a fighting stance, ready to face any other challengers.

An elder man stepped into the light. "Aang Gyatso,"the man surveyed Aang. He wore robes of a brilliant red color. His hair was greying but his slender face had a spark of youth to it.

"In life we are given many paths to choose between. Some paths lead to luxury and empty happiness. Other paths may lead to wholeness, love, and joy. While the others will lead into twisted, dark woods. I am here to offer you a new pathway Aang. On this path you will learn fulfillment. I will help you reach this fulfillment.

"My name is Roku. Tomorrow, you will be released from this prison and dropped off in the Komodo plains. Ahead of you will be the Kolau Mountains. Pick one of the panda lily flowers and walk to the top of the mountains. Once you are there you will find what you are looking for.

"Do not use your airbending to reach the top of the mountains. The lack of oxygen at the level so quickly will easily kill you. You must walk."

Aang stared at the man with a look half made up of confusion and half made up of confirmation.

"Good day,"Roku said before leaving the cell.

.

Just as Roku had promised, the next day Aang was released in the Komodo plains. He found a panda lily and began to make his journey to the top of the mountain.

Aang felt strange walking all the way to the top. Normally, he would have rocketed to the top of the mountain. He realized his reliance on his bending.

Reaching the top, he found a strange temple. Roku greeted him.

"What is this place?"Aang asked.

"We call ourselves the League of Shadows. We have learned the secrets to learning not just one bending element, but all four elements. We have taught ourselves to combine the strength of all elements and use them as one through a spiritual state called the Avatar State. Your training in water, earth, and fire will begin tomorrow.

.

Aang worked hard the next few years as he learned how to unlock chakras to allow him to bend the other elements.

He not only learned how to bend the elements, he learned how to fight with them.

Waterbending was not extremely difficult. Roku taught him how to feel the push and the pull of the water. Often at night they observed the moon and discussed its effects on the tide.

"Water is consist and even-tempered,"Roku preached, "It is loyal, persistent, idealist, and most important it is adaptable. If you plan to master waterbending you must learn to adapt to anything your opponent throws at you."

Before Roku had finished his sentence a knife flew through the air at Aangs head. Aang gasped before quickly bending the snow from the ground up to his face to freeze the knife midair. He sighed relief as the knife was frozen in a chamber of ice inches from his face.

Roku nodded his approval.

"Earth is the element of substance. To master earthbending, you must be strong and tough like a rock."

Aang struggled with earthbending. It was so different from airbending. Unlike airbending where you had to be agile and quick on your feet, you had to hold a rooted position and be strong.

"You've spent so much of your life avoiding your problems that they have become your fears and have blocked your earth chakra. You must learn to face your past rather than escape it. You can no longer block out the memories of your past. You must accept them,"Roku told Aang.

Aang continued to have the memories in his sleep, however, rather than blocking them after waking, he focused and meditated upon them. While the memories continued to fill his head with darkness and anger he improved in earthbending. He learned how to become rooted to the ground and push a rock.

Firebending was his final challenge.

"Fire is the least predictable of the elements. It is freedom and strong-willed, but at the same time it is unpredictable and hungry. Before I teach you firebending you must learn to control your anger,"Roku ordered Aang.

Aang looked down contemplating this.

"Your parents death was not your fault. You must learn to stop blocking your grief and guilt with anger and rage. You cannot be trusted to use fire with such rage. You will only burn everything in your path. You must learn to use it sparingly."

.

A train sped into Republic City on the bright, starry night. Aang peered out the window, excited to see the glowing city. At the age of eight, Aang had visited the downtown of Republic City many times with his mother and father, but he had never travelled to it in such a fashion.

"Do you enjoy the train?"Gyatso asked Aang to which his son happily nodded, "Did you know Gyatso Enterprises built this train system?"Gyatso boasted proudly before pointing out the window at a tall tower in the middle of the city, "See that right there? That's our building in the middle of the city. Of course, I am rarely there since I'm usually tending to patience with the waterbenders in the hospital."

"Maybe one day you'll work with Katara,"Aang noted happily remembering that his friend had recently realized she was a waterbender.

Gyatso chuckled, "Perhaps if she has healing abilities."

"And then one day,"Gyatso spoke to his son, "You will run Gyatso Enterprises."

Aang looked out to see the building pass, the building that held his future. It towered above the other buildings in Republic City. It was truly a spectacle of the city.

The Opera House was packed that night with Republic City's wealthiest and most notable citizens. Aang was the youngest in the audience.

Sitting between his mother and his father he watched as the opera commenced. The opera became dark and terrifying. Aang began to worry and panic. His fear overwhelmed him.

"Can we leave?" he whispered to his father. "_Please?_" he pushed anxiously.

Gyatso nodded understandably. "What's wrong?" his wife asked as he motioned to her.

The family left the opera through the side, depositing out into a dark alleyway. "Are you alright sweety?"Aang's mother asked protectively.

"Hey!" a voice interrupted the family.

A scruffy looking man stumbled into their path with a loaded gun. Aang's stomach tightened. The man was probably not a bender. Clearly his father could stop the man with his airbending. Right?

"Give me your money," the man said pointing the gun directly at the family.

"Ok, let's stay calm," Gyatso said calmly taking out his wallet.

Then it all happened so fast. The man made a move toward Aang's mother causing Gyatso to step in front of her. The man panicked and shot the gun directly at Gyatso. In a state of fear, Aang's mother made a move too fast and was shot by a second blow from the gun. They both fell to the ground before Aang. The man gave one look at Aang before running off into the dark.

Aang fell to his knees, sobbing. With his last words his father turned to Aang and said, "Don't be afraid, Aang."

Aang remembered sirens wailing in the background as he sat with his parents' bodies. He felt as though he was there for a lifetime. However, he never could recall what had happened in that thirty minutes of waiting before the police arrived.

He was immediately taken to the police station. There, a kind officer tried to comfort him, placing a jacket around the boy. "If…if I hadn't gotten scared and made them leave…maybe…maybe they'd still be…"

"This isn't your fault," the kind officer shushed the grief stricken boy.

"Officer Pakku, you're needed up front," the second officer told the kind officer before turning his attention to Aang. "Well son, we've found the man." The officer smiled as though this was some sort of victory. Aang didn't see how it could be one since it wouldn't bring back his parents.

.

"Learn to channel your rage and accept your grief. This will make you a good firebender,"Roku advised.

.

Once Aang started learning firebending he felt the power he possessed. It was an amazing feeling that was strangely calming to him.

Finally he had mastered the element.

"For your final test,"Roku said as he paced the main room of the temple, "You must learn to fight by compiling all the elements as one."

Suddenly, many other members of the League of Dark Shadows appeared. The stood together allowing Roku to disappear among them. Every one of them was concealed in a black fighting suit. Aang paced through the crowd of concealed men, searching for his master.

The men turned and Aang was suddenly attacked by a rocket of fire from Roku. Aang nearly avoided the fire. Before he could answer the blast the men turned again and Roku had disappeared among the sea of black uniforms.

Roku continued to surprise him. Aang got a few moves through himself. At last, Roku sliced Aang with a slick piece of ice on his elbow. Using this same technique, Aang ingeniously sliced a few others with ice on their elbow before blending into the sea of black.

Thinking he had found Aang, Roku grabbed the man and held him at fire point. "Looks like you don't pass this test."

Swiftly Aang stepped out and held Roku at fire point. "Looks like I do."

Roku smiled and the men parted.

A strange woman stood before them. She was clapping. She was towered over the others. Her face was painted with white and red was caked above her eyes. "Welcome to the League of Shadows, Avatar Aang. I am Avatar Kyoshi. You have successfully mastered all four elements and have learned how to use them together. You have one final test."

Aang bowed before the Kyoshi showing his respect.

"Your final task will be…to kill this man."

From above a man in a cage was lowered before them.

"K-kill?" the words barely escaped Aang. "How can I justify killing this man?"

"He is a murderer. He murdered his wife. He needs justice," Kyoshi answered with a stoney face.

"No," Aang declared, "I can't kill another human being. I was always taught to treat each life sacredly."

"This man deserves his justice. You have disobeyed the League of Shadows. For that you must be punished with death," Kyoshi said coldly.

Warriors of the League of Shadows seemed to descend upon Aang. "Roku?" he called out with no answer. His master had given up on him too.

Aang saw no way for him to win this fight. He made a huge airblast to drive himself through the wall of the temple. From there he escaped out into the cold terrain. He knew he was being followed. The League of Shadows would try to stop him. Aang hopped down the mountain using his best element, air.


	2. Chapter 2

_I just kind of realized how OOC Aang is. Oops. Anyway here's the second part I hope you enjoy_

* * *

Appa watched the private jet land on the dark platform. He smiled grimly as the heir to the Gyatso fortune, Aang, stepped off.

"Master Aang," he greeted the man who had been nearly a confused teenager last time they had seen one another.

"Appa," Aang smiled at his dutifully butler, "It's good to see you again." Aang had been gone for many years. However, the old butler still looked very much the same.

Appa had always been a good butler to his family. He was an elder man who in his prime had been a combative airbender in the army. Gyatso had hired Appa, trusting the man to be a loyal part of the family.

When they had returned to the Gyatso manor Aang saw how little care it had received over the years. Tall weeds grew around the gardens. The windows looked dark and dreary. The large house looked as though it was in need of a serious power clean.

There was once a time when Gyatso manor had a lively look to it. People would attend elegant benefits and fine dinner parties. There would always be a gardener tending to the flowers in the green houses. A few of the maids would be scurrying throughout the house keeping everything in order. Even a few visitors may be seen wandering the open fields of the manor. Of course, all of this had been when Aang's parents had been alive.

After their death the manor slowly fell apart. The maids and gardeners were all dismissed by Gyatso enterprises. The only worker the manor was given was Appa, Aang's now legal guardian. When Aang had left Appa gave up at keeping the manor together.

Aang sighed at seeing the dreary house that had once been his mother's pride. "Appa, call a cleaning service…and a gardening service for the manor."

"Will do sir."

.

"I thought I had heard you were going to be back in town," a familiar voice came from behind Aang as he unpacked his few belongings.

"Katara," he greeted his old friend.

Katara had grown a great deal since he had last seen her. Her dark chestnut hair was wavy. She still had her signature hair loopies but rather than tying them back in a braid she allowed her long hair to cascade down her back. She was dressed in hues of blue but in a very professional looking manner.

They awkwardly hugged.

"Well I have to get back to the District Attorney's office," she told him pleasantly.

"Wow, working at the District Attorney's huh?"

"Well, someone has to clean up the streets of Republic City."

.

Aang strode into Gyatso enterprises on the same day. Unlike the manor, the company was still running. It had made excellent profits over the years. Clearly, his father had left the company in good hands.

"Sir, can I help you?" a distracted receptionist asked him.

"Yes, I'm here to see the President."

"Well, you will need an appointment, the President is very backed up at the moment. Could I have your name?"

"Gyatso, Aang Gyatso."

The receptionist paused and gasped. Could it really be the man who owned the company was here? "O-oh," the receptionist stammered as he reached for the phone, "Sir, I there's someone here to see you. It's very important."

"Mr. Gyatso," a tall man greeted Aang minutes later.

"Jet," Aang shook hands with the man running his company.

"We had no idea you were back in town."

Aang chuckled. "I've only been back for a short amount of time."

"What can I help you with? Did you need to go over the profits of your enterprise?"

"Actually, I was looking for a job."

"Yes, I can get you a meeting with the board right away sir."

"Well I was actually thinking something more in the research department."

Aang was sent down to the research headquarters. The department seemed kind of lonely. He sat at a desk waiting for the head of the department to arrive.

"Welcome back," he heard a voice behind him. "The name is Sokka," the man introduced himself. Aang was certain he had water tribe heritage. Like Katara he had thick, dark hair and bright blue eyes. More obviously, he wore clothes of a blue palette.

"So, what interests you in this department? Over the years it stopped receiving funding. We basically just get all the failed gadgets no one wanted."

"May I see them?" Aang asked hopeful.

The artillery holding the unwanted gadgets was brightly lit. Aang looked them all over carefully. He even picked a few out to take back to the manor.

"What's that?" he asked pointed to a large item draped in cloth.

"Oh that, you wouldn't be interested in that," Sokka smiled knowingly. "It's just my very own invention, a mechanical flying bison."

He removed the cloth to reveal a large monstrous bison made out of metal. "We tried to sell these to the Southeastern air temple. They didn't want them. They preferred using their real bison. I guess it makes sense, the airbenders are rarely at war anyway. But, unlike a real bison, the 'driver' can step into the vehicle, it allows the driver to go faster, be safer, and take the bison to higher levels. It has more power than a Satomobile. You can drive it, fly it, or take it under water." Sokka looked at the large bison with pride.

.

Back at the manor, Aang explored the land. Long ago a small community of airbenders lived under the cliff next to where the house was now located. It had been a long time since the ruins had been inhabited. Aang decided to take a look through the ruins. He began building down in the ruins under the cliff. He even created a tunnel connected from the house. Of course, all this did not pass his faithful butler's notice.

"Sir," Appa said one night after Aang had spent a long amount of time in the ruins, "What are you planning?"

"Just exploring Appa," Aang smiled cheesily, knowing his butler would never buy that story. Aang always had a reason for everything. "Besides I have to have somewhere to put some of my new gadgets."

Appa sighed. "Yes, I've seen those. You aren't planning vengeance are you?"

Aang looked down, phased by a morbid memory. "Not for my parents, but for the city of Gotham."

.

TEN YEARS AGO

Gotham had been just the same as when Aang left it months ago to begin college. It still brought him pangs of guilt. He still felt anger against the criminals of Gotham.

Today was the day he would change all of that. He would finally avenge his parents.

He had returned home to attend the court case against his parents' murderer. His murderer was offered parole by promising to reveal some evidence against the mob leader, Azula. Aang wasn't so furious that the man was being offered parole for being a weasel. In fact, he saw that it actually gave him an opportunity. Before attending the trial he stashed a sharp knife in his robes with which he intended to strike the murderer with.

The trial was a very grim one indeed. As the murderer was being escorted out Aang tried to gain some confidence to do what he had to do. It was his moment to gain vengeance and stop feeling this terrible guilt.

Bang! Before Aang had a moment a firebender struck the murderer fatally.

Shocked Aang stepped back as officers jumped on to the firebender. "Aang," Katara appeared and tugged on his robe to follow.

"What…what were you planning to do?" Katara asked Aang knowingly once they had exited the court house.

"Nothing."

Katara shook her head. "Revenge won't make you feel better Aang, you should know that. If you're trying to make the world a better place you're going after the wrong man." She angrily looked down refusing to look at Aang's face.

"Well Katara we aren't all working to make the world a better place!"

"What happened to you? You've changed. All you care about is yourself. All you do is run from your problems. Well, Aang, your problems lie here in Gotham, along with everyone else!"

With that she stormed away from him leaving Aang alone on the street to contemplate where he was going in life. It was in those moments that Aang decided to leave Republic City to learn how to save Republic City. He had decided to travel to the Earth Kingdom to learn about the world of criminals. He wanted to fulfill Katara's dreams and fix the problems. Someone owed it to Gotham. He would find vengeance alright. He would redeem himself. He would do this by redeeming Gotham.

It was also with that moment that he realized how in love he was with Katara, the strong, independent water tribe girl.

.

TEN YEARS FORWARD (PRESENT DAY)

RCN: A bank heist occurred today adding to a string of bank robberies in the past month. Police have no leads so far. The only connections found between the robberies were the large amounts of left over playing cards. These cards are all the same one, the Joker card. More to come on this story tonight at nine.

.

The night was dark. Dawn was approaching, but for now Aang had the darkness to protect him.

Covered in a simple mask and a dark body suit he stood on top of a building watching Republic City and waiting. He was always waiting.

A slightly oversized man passed his view. He was on the inside of the Triple Threat triad, a gang of benders that wrecked havoc on the city. If Aang was going to make good on his promise of avenging Republic City, he needed to drive out the corrupt triads who ran the city.

Over the years the officers had failed to do anything about the Triads. They had tried to lock people away. Unfortunately, the people being imprisoned were never important enough to truly strike a blow at the Triads. The leaders of the Triads were clever. They were masters of hiding and conducting their businesses in secret.

Aang decided he had to stop the Triads. It was in fact a Triple Threat Triad member who had assassinated his parents' murderer. Republic City News or RCN for that matter had reported that during the investigation the assassin confessed to being hired by the Triple Threat Triad. They were simply trying to burn their bridges and avoid getting caught because of some scraggly man. Now it was Aang's turn to rid the streets of them, and hopefully, in turn, clean up the streets of Republic City once and for all.

Aang watched the oversized man carefully. Any minute now he would fall into his trap.

Woosh!

The man stepped in the wrong place. His feet were suddenly binded together by the ankles. A set of cuffs attached his wrists together, all to prevent him from firebending. The man shot up through the air, upside down, facing a masked Aang.

"Who runs the Triple Threat Triads?" Aang demanded in a deep voice.

Shocked and in a daze the man stammered, "W-what? I-I don't know."

"Yes, you do," Aang said forcefully. He summoned a small flame of fire and held it towards the rope holding the man up. "If my flame accidentally burns through this rope you fall directly on your face. It would be a very unfortunate accident especially for your head." The oversized man could smell something burning above him. Bits of the burned rope began to fall to the ground below.

"N-no, what are you doing?"

"Who runs the Triple Threats?"

"I don't know!"

"Who runs the Triple Threats?"

"Ok, ok," the man quivered, sweat falling down his grotesque face. "Azula. Azula is her name. Azula, she is a firebender from a rich and historic firebending family."

"Where will I find her?"

"I never know for sure. Please, believe me. I swear she comes to me. But look, I'll tell you this, the headquarters is by the river. That much I know. Just please-please let me go!"

The rope holding the man suddenly snapped as the man began falling toward the hard gravel. Just before he would have met at least a serious head injury the rope released slowly, leaving him on the ground with a soft plump. At the same time his bondages preventing his bending were released.

The man looked up to find the thing that had just forced him into giving away fatal secrets. At least those secrets would be fatal to him. If Azula and the Triple Threats ever found out he had given away their information he was a goner for sure. When he looked back up at the building though, the man was gone.

.

Aang began spending a great deal of time in the ruins. Sokka had given him even more wonderful gadgets. "See this one?" Sokka asked pointing to some strong looking bindings, "Wrap these around a benders hands, feet or whatever and they won't be able to bend from that area. Firebenders can't melt it, Earthbenders can't carve it open, Waterbenders can't slice it off, and Airbenders can't gust through it." Aang had tried the substance out himself and found that Sokka was right. "The United Republic Army had shown interest in them but I think they were worried that if they had them others might get their hands on it and prevent them from bending so now we have a huge excess of it."

Aang then asked Sokka to make him a kind of armored suit. "Not sure what you would need that for but anything for you Mr. Gyatso," Sokka said with a knowing look.

The suit was black and similar to armor. It went over his head with a mask to cover his face. Along his back was a narrow line that traveled up to his head. At his head, the line thickened and became a distinct arrow on the mask. A similar pattern followed from his shoulders to his hands, each creating another arrow. These arrows glowed a bright blue along with his eyes in the mask. He had gotten the ideas for the arrows from ancient airbending monks. Along with shaving their hair, when the monks had mastered airbending they would tattoo arrows on themselves, much like the air bison they had learned bending from. Today airbenders still shaved their hair, at least the men did, but only the very traditional Air nomads practiced this ritual. None of them even lived in Republic City.

"The Avatar," Aang said to Appa using his designated nickname, "is supposed to represent justice for Republic City. He can be anyone with the patience to learn all four elements. He is the proof that bending doesn't corrupt people, but enlightens them."

.

"Appa, set up my coordinates for the hide out. I think it's time the Avatar made his debut."

"Right away, Master Aang."

For the past week Aang had been tracking the oversized man and his interactions. During their first and only encounter Aang had managed to place a small tracker behind his ear. The tracker also allowed Aang to hear who he was talking to. With every new voice he programmed it into the system which found who the voice belonged to.

After days of Aang waiting and watching, Azula had come to see the oversized man. They met in public at a small diner in one of the sketchier neighborhoods of Republic City. Aang had attended their meeting as well. He dressed as himself yet more covered up so as not to attract attention to the fact that Republic City's well known billionaire was at a strange diner on the other side of town. He would have arrived as the Avatar but he his suit was not ready at that time. At the dinner he had managed to walk by and place a tracker on one of her body guards. After a few more days of watching guard's movements with Azula, Aang pinpointed her hide out.

"Shall I send the coordinates via the uh…flying bison?" Appa asked.

Aang nodded putting on his suit, feeling the fabric's perfect fit on him.

Entering the mechanical bison Aang said the two words that would make him go—"Yip yip."

.

"I'm sorry, I-I just don't have the bank information you need right now. It was stolen during that bank robbery. We're trying to retrace it," a fearful man said.

The club room held a small amount of people, most of them were henchmen. The room was dim, only a few lights were on and even they casted simply a shallow light. A thick layer of smoke could be seen between the lights, rising to the ceiling.

"Then why," Azula asked the scrawny man, "have you bothered to waste my time? I have told you bring me information or money so then I can at least hire a new clown. Take him away."

She had a menacing look about her. Her dark brown hair was up in its usual bun with two strings of hair framing her flawless face. She wore dark red robes, like the color of blood. She wore no makeup except a dark shade of red painted across her lips. Her amber eyes had a purely evil look to them. And even though she was skinny, it was plain to see she was willing to take on anything that got in her path.

Azula sighed, "You just can't find good help these days."

An explosion suddenly rocketed the side of the hide out. Azula jumped to her feet firebending the explosion away from her. A few of her henchmen however were not as lucky as she was. Out of the smoke appeared a dark figure with bright arrow tattoos.

"Guards, stop that-thing," Azula demanded.

Five of the remaining henchmen tried to ambush the Avatar. He easily warded them off by creating an air bubble around himself pushing them against the walls of the hide out.

Then ice, earth, and fire were all headed his way. In nearly an instant the ice fell to the ground as a puddle of water, the earth was barricaded with an earth wall. The Avatar barely dived through the fire, slightly burning himself in the process.

Using the water, the Avatar, created a massive water whip to hit all five benders. They fell to the floor like dominoes. He threw the anti-bender material at their hands and feet, preventing their escape.

Now the Avatar turned his attention to Azula.

She had already begun to flee out the exit of the hide out. She was sure she would escape until a fire blast fired from behind her nearly avoided contact with her head.

Enraged, she turned to meet the masked arrow man behind her. She began to spit bouts of blue fire at him. He easily avoided these with his swift agile airbending moves.

The puddles below Azula became frozen under her feet make her slip. A second wave of water threw her against the wall and froze her in place. Breathing out her nose she melted away the ice with hot steam. She then directed more blue fire at the Avatar making a few hits this time.

Aang blasted her back with a gust of air. Suddenly the wall around her enveloped her body. Before she could attempt to escape her hands, feet and mouth were wrapped in the anti-bending gear. She was trapped.

The masked man approached her.

Just as Azula was wonder who-or even what-this thing was, it said, "I'm the Avatar, and I'm here to bring justice to the streets of Republic City."

The Avatar had begun.

.

Later that night, Azula was found on a bright light pointing to the sky. Her body was straight but her arms were angled out. She was still covered with her anti-bending bondage. Looking up at the sky her body seemed to create the symbol of an arrow.

The police were dumbfounded. They had been looking for the leader of the Triple Threats for years now. Suddenly, a strange call about a woman attached to a light and here she was nearly delivered to them.

Officer Toph Bei-fong shook her head I disbelief. She had expected a big show down before Azula would be captured. Heck, she actually looked forward to the show down. Azula's firey blue shots would be any match for her great earth and metal bending. She never thought this would happen. Toph looked up at the arrow and wondered…who?

Later people would say it was a strange man covered in arrows. They said he could bend all four elements. They said he went by the name Avatar.

Toph scoffed at these rumors until one night the Avatar visited her with information to bust another triad. And thus began her meetings with the Avatar.

.

The newly elected District Attorney looked over the case on the leader of the Triple Threat Triads. He had all his material ready. There was no way should could be found innocent this time.

"I could do it you know," a girl who worked with him in the District Attorney's office had told him, "I could argue this one and win."

"I know Katara," the District Attorney smiled, but then his face became more serious before he said, "It's something I have to do though. I have to finally defeat my sister. I have regain my honor."

* * *

_Thanks for reading! More to come soon. The Joker should be making an actual entrance any time now. And I just figured out how Korra could be a part of the story. What do you think? Do you want Korra in this?_


	3. Chapter 3

_I do not own Batman/Dark Knight or Avatar the Last Airbender._

_Anyway, shit starts to get real. This is just the beginning._

* * *

RCN: Today victims of a bank robbery were found on the streets. Police say that they were originally hostages in the crisis who had met a fatal end. The victims had cuts across their mouths. This is not the first incident of this particular incident the police have seen in the past month. More later as the investigation continues to unfold.

Republic City had changed in the past year. Yes, there were still crimes occurring every day. Things were different though. The Triple Threat Triad had been disbanded since the arrest of their leader a few months before. Criminals feared meeting late at night. The police officers had gained confidence to patrol the streets of the city. Of course, all this was thanks to Republic City's famous hero, the Avatar.

Still, people were unsure how to act toward the Avatar. He had a lot of power. Sure he used that power for good now, but what if one day he snapped? It wasn't exactly like they knew who the masked man was anyway, making it more difficult to gain their trust in the Avatar.

Regardless, the Avatar roamed the night sky, protecting the city. By day he was billionaire philanthropist, Aang Gyatso, but at night he could throw that disguise away and become the Avatar. Aang wasn't even sure who he really was any more. One day he would like to not need to be the Avatar. He hoped Republic City would be able to stand on its own against crooks and criminals. The more he became the Avatar though, the more he felt conflicted between the Avatar and Aang.

"Master Aang,"Appa called to him from the other room, "I'd like to remind you that you are hosting the charity ball tonight at the manor. I'm sure many people would greatly appreciate your attendance."

Aang sighed. He hated the charity benefits. He wasn't sure why Appa still allowed people to hold them in the manor. What if someone accidentally found the ruins? He would be ruined. (no pun intended .)

"I'm going to see Sokka about something new."

"Be back by five," Appa advised.

Aang took his air scooter into Gyatso enterprises. Since he had taken control of his company over the past few months, Jet had been fired. He had given Sokka the president job. "Me?" Sokka asked surprised when Aang had promoted him.

"I need someone clever to start working the upstairs," Aang chuckled.

"Aang," Sokka greeted Aang at the door, "Shall we?" he asked motioning into his office. Once the door was closed and locked, Sokka pulled Book One, Water, out of his book case revealing a trap door into the armory.

"You had something new?" Aang asked.

"It could have waited. Aren't you hosting a benefit at your house tonight?"

Aang groaned internally. He looked around; the only new thing he saw was a tall stick in a glass case in the middle of the room.

"Is this it?"

Sokka smiled, "Take it out of the case and press the button."

Aang followed the directions. As he pressed the button he jumped back as wings made out of orange fabric expanded from the sides of the stick.

"It's a glider. You can fly with it using airbending. I figured it might come in handy if that old bison becomes too much trouble."

"Wow," Aang said impressed marveling at how light the stick seem. He pressed the button again making the wings disappear back into the compact stick. It almost seemed like a walking stick. "I'll have to try this out right away." So what if he missed another charity ball? There would always be others.

.

As Katara walked through the gardens of Gyatso Manor she was flooded with memories. She smiled sadly remembering how often she and Aang would play in these gardens. Of course, she would never forget when Aang fell down into the well. The memory of seeing her little friend running happily at one moment and then falling into a dark tunnel in the ground the next minute terrified her even today.

"How much longer do we have to put up with these people?" Zuko asked her as he casually looked around in search of an exit.

"As the District Attorney you should get to know these people," Katara playfully scolded him coming out of her mental walk through memory lane.

Zuko smiled back at her. Katara knew he hated these obnoxious events. Unfortunately, as Republic City's most daring District Attorney to date, he didn't have too many friends on the streets of Republic City. Clearly, he'd have to find friends somewhere in the city to gain enough funding to even consider running for reelection.

Katara glanced once again at the man who had taken her to the benefit. Like his sister, Azula, who Zuko had successfully taken down in court, Zuko had a flawless face with dark brown hair. His hair was cut short and neatly spiked to look professional. He was a very powerful firebender, he just didn't always know how to control his firebending. Luckily, Katara was there to add a little water to cool him off every once and a while.

"I'm going to go look for Aang," Katara told him, "try to make friends."

Katara searched the manor having little luck. "Appa," she called after the butler, "did he really miss one of his own events? Or did he just get caught up with some bimbo?"

"I think we both know the answer to that one madam," the butler told her knowingly.

Perhaps he was in the east wing, Katara thought. She knew that the east wing of the house was rarely used but for some odd reason she felt as though she had to see it.

As she expected the east wing was dark. The only light came from the bright moon shining through the tall French windows. The pieces of furniture were covered with white clothes. A thin coating of dust was visible on the surface of everything.

As Katara wandered the wing she saw a light on at the very end of the hall. "Aang?" she whispered quietly as she approached.

Pressing her way into the only light room she first noticed the window was wide open letting in a cool breeze. The second thing she noticed was the panting man lying on floor.

"Aang?" Katara asked stupefied. But it couldn't be Aang. This man was dressed as the Avatar. His mask had been discarded upon walking into the room revealing plain and clear to Katara this was Aang. She rushed to him and began healing the man burns he had.

"K-katara," Aang gasped not even realizing he was wearing his Avatar outfit. Then he fainted. Katara continued to heal the man before she called Appa to take him to the master bedroom.

"Does he always come back this scraped up?" Katara asked worriedly.

Appa sighed. "I can't say he ever has."

"I'm coming back Appa. I'll come back tomorrow."

.

Earlier that night before the benefit, Aang decided to test out his new glider. Changing into his Avatar suit he took to the dark streets of Republic City. He would go back to the manor in an hour. He would make the benefit. No one would notice his late arrival.

Then he had seen the light coming from the police station, an arrow in the sky calling for him. Often Officer Toph shined the light to hold a meeting with the Avatar. Aang observed that she seemed to spend more time working than relaxing.

He landed on the roof with whisp of air. He twirled the glider making the wings fall back into the stick. Sure enough Officer Toph was waiting on the roof for him.

"These bank robberies have been getting worse. They're all being operated under one man. I don't know how he does it. He calls himself the Joker. We have no idea who he is or have any leads on him. All we know is that he keeps robbing the banks and creating chaos. Tonight we received a tape saying he was going to rob Republic City Central Bank. He said he already filled it with explosives that he'll trigger if he sees any hint of the cops on the street. We're at our wits end. We need you the Avatar to take care of this. Sure, I would gladly go in there and rough this Joker guy up but we can't afford an explosion especially at one of the main banks of Republic City. People would lose faith in all that we've done."

The Avatar nodded processing the information. Toph looked up at the light shining in the sky. "This is your first encounter with him isn't it?" However, when Toph turned back around for an answer the Avatar was gone.

.

The Joker cackled to himself as his cronies drilled a hole through the roof of Republic City Central Bank. The police would take his threat seriously. They didn't want the people losing faith in them after they had carefully rebuilt it over the past few months. They would send him. They would send the Avatar all right. Finally, the Joker would get the meeting he wanted.

The past few months of robbing banks had been fun for the Joker but they were beginning to become slightly boring. It was always the same routine; threaten the customers, get the complicated lock on the vault open, and escape from the cops. The Joker needed something new to focus on. Something more exciting. Perhaps the Avatar would offer this.

As the clown henchmen fell into the bank through the roof they secured the perimeter. He would have to come, the Joker was sure of it. There wasn't a cop in sight.

"You," he pointed at one of the clowns, "go take care of the vault."

The Joker waited anxiously looking around for the Avatar as the clown undid the lock. The vault door slowly hissed open. A gust of ice came from within the vault and slashed across the clown freezing him on the floor.

The Joker smiled maliciously, finally.

The two other clown henchmen tried to fight the Avatar. However, none of the clowns were benders. They used weapons of course, but none of these matched the Avatars four element strength.

Finally it was just the Avatar and the Joker.

"Well, you're hard to get a hold of," the Joker said as he casually paced the room.

Aang shot a blast of fire toward the Joker's face. Easily the Joker evaded the flames through his agile moves.

"Not a fan of talking? Seems kind of rude," the Joker noted.

Once again Aang tried to attack. He sent a large boulder at the Joker. However, the Joker merely leapt over it. Suddenly the Joker was in the Avatar's face. Aang felt the Joker jab him in a few particular pressure points. Aang felt weak and as though he'd lost his power. He fell to the ground limp in all of his limbs. With one finally jab at neck from the Joker Aang fell paralyzed on the ground.

"Now really isn't a good time for me actually," the Joker said beginning to prepare his exit from the bank's ceiling.

Dramatically, the Joker looked out the window. "Is-is that a cop I see down there? Hm…good enough for me," the Joker said before pressing a button lifting him out of the bank.

A second button was pressed creating a rocking explosion through the bank. Aang mustered what strength he had to protect his face from the blast. He then limped into the alley way to catch his breath.

That was when he realized he couldn't bend. He had no power of any of the elements. The Joker must have used some strange chi blocking fighting. After two hours had passed Aang gained what little strength he could to airbend himself home on the glider. He had nearly crashed into the room in the east wing. His body was in pain from the burns of the explosion.

The last thing he remembered before passing out, was Katara's kind face looking worriedly down upon him.

"Katara, don't worry so much," he had wanted to say. However, he only managed the first word in the phrase before blacking out.

.

The next morning, Aang woke in a daze. "Wha-what happened?" he asked aloud. He was in his parents' room for a strange reason. He hadn't visited this room in the east wing of the Gyatso manor since their death. The curtains in the room were already drawn back allowing the day light to brighten up the room. The closet on the other side of the room was open with his Avatar suit hung within it. Was this just Appa's doing? Aang remembered he had barely made it back to the house last night. He had crashed through the window and tore off his mask. From there everything seemed like a dream. He had dreamt he had seen Katara but then just blacked out.

At that moment Katara entered the bedroom with a fresh pot of tea. "Aang!" she said relieved, "you're awake."

Aang's eyes widened realizing that maybe his dream had been real. Had she discovered he was the Avatar? Surely, she had seen the suit hanging in the closet by now.

"You-you know?" Aang asked.

Katara nodded. "You came back burnt up. I did the best I could with healing but there will still be a few scars for a while." She paused before saying, "I won't ask you about your actions as…him. It's dangerous but I think you're really getting through to the city and doing some good. I'll let you be," she said before she got up to leave.

"Katara," he called after her weakly.

She turned back to look at him with her bright blue eyes. "I have to go meet Zuko for lunch," she told him sadly before leaving.

.

RCN: This just in, our news team received a viral video from an anonymous source. A warning to our viewers, this video is uncensored. The content may be seen as unsuitable for some viewers. Be advised. The video contains Republic City's most recently raising criminals, the Joker. We go now to the video.

The screen changed from the Republic City newsroom to a badly lit warehouse being recorded by what seemed like a viral video camera. A sickly laugh came from behind the camera as it whirled around to face someone dressed up in an outfit close to the Avatar's.

"Tell them your name," the Joker told his hostage manically.

"Haru," the man said fearfully. He was tied up and looked as though he'd been beaten up a little.

"And are you the real Avatar?" The Joker ripped the mask off Haru revealing a pale, frightened man. Haru shook his head. "Well, then why do you dress up like him?" The Joker laughed a crazy laugh. "You think you don't have to fear me because of the Avatar. He'll be here to save you, oh sure, but where is he now then? Ha ha. You should fear me. Hee hee."

The video camera spun around showing an up close face of the Joker. "The Avatar needs to take off his mask and reveal himself to the world. Every day he doesn't someone will die, starting with tonight. Trust me, I'm a man of my word." The video camera spun and began to shake. The screams of the hostage were heard in the background as well as the maniacal laugh from the Joker.

The screen returned to the main RCN page with the reporter ready to continue the nightly news.

Aang and Appa watched the television in awe. Aang noticed Appa's worried face.

Aang breathed sharply through his nostrils.

"It's been two weeks since your first encounter with him," Appa noted. "You've done so much for Republic City. You can't let this one man tear apart all you've done. Endure, Master Aang, endure."

.

"I want to meet him," Zuko told Toph in her office one afternoon.

"I'm not so sure he would want to meet you," she retorted.

Frustrated Zuko groaned as fire shoot through his nostrils.

"Careful with that temper Mr. District Attorney, just because you locked your own sister up doesn't mean I trust you."

Zuko eyed Toph skeptically. "What's that nickname they call me around the office?"

Toph looked down, ashamed, "I-I haven't heard anything…Come tonight at eleven when the arrow is shining in the sky. You'll meet the Avatar then."

Later that night, the Avatar arrived to meet not just Toph but also Zuko.

"The Joker is rattling the town. People don't feel safe anymore," Toph told the Avatar, "how are we to stop him?"

"We can't have the Avatar give up his identity. It would destroy Republic City as we know it," Zuko stated, "People will die, but they will die for the good cause."

The Avatar nodded. "It is the only way to save more people."

"Republic City will have to pay its deed. The night is always darkest before the dawn," Zuko said. When he turned back around he found the Avatar gone. It was as though he had disappeared in thin air.

Toph smiled smugly. "He does that."

.

Every night Aang set out into the city to try to save people. Unfortunately, he was always too late. He had yet to meet with the Joker again since his first encounter. Everywhere he went though the Joker seemed to have left his mark, whether it was debris from a burned down building or a church letting out after a funeral.

Aang was at his wits end.

Another benefit was being held, this time at the Gyatso penthouse in down town Republic City.

"Deciding to attend your own event this time?" Katara had arrived early. In fact, he was just getting ready in his newest suit when she came.

Aang smiled and nodded. "I figured since it's a benefit for our new District Attorney I might as well make an appearance and congratulate him on all his good work. You look lovely tonight," Aang commented on her turquoise robes made out of silk.

"Aang…" she began to detest.

"No, Katara, really. I-I think…I think I've been missing it all this time," Aang began.

"Aang, don't make me your only chance for normalcy. I'm with Zuko right now."

"But, when you aren't one day…"

Katara shook her head. "When Republic City doesn't need the Avatar, that is when the day will come for us," Katara told him. He reached toward her and kissed her passionately. Katara stopped him. "We shouldn't. I shouldn't."

Aang watched her leave. He always seemed to watch her leave.

The most notable people of Republic City were at the party. Everyone applauded as Zuko made his entrance. After wading through the fake greetings and congratulations he finally found his girlfriend.

"Katara, can we talk somewhere in private?"

She led Zuko to the balcony with an excellent view of Republic City. From the penthouse she could see the tall Cabbage Corp building. Cars looked like ants.

"Katara, we've been through so much together this past year alone. I really can't imagine life without you. I was wondering," Zuko began as he seemed to fishing something out of his pocket. When he pulled out a betrothal necklace he asked, "will you make this forever?"

"Zuko," Katara's breath caught. Then she remembered her promise to Aang earlier. The realization crashed upon her. She hadn't stopped to think about her feelings through all of this. Whom did she love more, Aang or Zuko? "I-I…" she stammered when suddenly a crash came from within the penthouse.

Suddenly Aang was on the balcony with them. Before Zuko could turn to see Aang, Aang performed a complicated trick to make him unconscious.

"Aang!" Katara yelled, "what are you doing?"

"The Joker is here. He's come for Zuko. Stay here," Aang instructed.

Aang dashed to his nearest compartment holding his Avatar gear. Hopefully, he would make it in time before the Joker ruined the party.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, we are tonight's entertainment," the Joker said to the room full of Republic City's richest citizens, followed by his clown henchmen. "This is the benefit for District Attorney Zuko, is that correct?" The Joker laughed hysterically, "Where's the party, people? Where is Zuko? Do you know? Where's Zuko?"

"Leave now," a voice said from behind the Joker.

The Joker turned. Finally, someone to make this night fun and worthwhile. He turned to face a young water tribe girl with a disgusted look on her face. The joker laughed again. "You must be Zuko's girl. Tell me where is the man of the hour? He's certainly not protecting Republic City right now from the criminal scum like me."

Angrily Katara slapped the Joker with a harsh water whip from her emergency water supply. The Joker just laughed. He came up close to her and asked, "Do you want to know how I got these scars?"

Katara's face turned pale as she looked up the clown close up. He had grabbed her hands and was holding her wrists tightly, preventing her blood from flowing to them evenly. She couldn't bend any water to get away from the man.

"My father was a violent man," the Joker commenced his story, "He was a firebender with a consuming rage. His fire ate up nearly everything in his life, including my mother. One night Daddy got a little too angry causing Mummy to burn. He turned to me, a quiet young child and asked why so serious son? Why so serious son? And then…" the Joker pointed to the burn marks on his face creating a forced smile.

Katara felt his grasp on her left hand weakened and took her moment to bend a icicle into his face. Unfortunately he prevented a collision. "A little fight in you, huh? I like that."

"Then you'll love me," a deeper, darker voice said before sending an blast of air at the jokers face in the form of a punch. The Joker flew back against the penthouse's tall window, cracking the window into pieces. It finally broke but not before the Joker jumped back into the penthouse.

Once again, Katara sent a water whip toward the Joker. The Joker easily avoided the water and jabbed a few points in her arm. "What?" Katara asked aloud confused, "I can't bend."

The Joker laughed and held her before him with a knife at her throat next to the open window.

"Let her go," the Avatar commanded.

"Poor choice of words," the Joker said before letting Katara go out the window to fall to the ground.

"Katara!" Aang yelled. He ran to the window and threw his glider into the night air.

He sailed down, grabbing Katara just before she would have hit the pavement. "Aang! Thank you," she said as they flew high above the penthouse.

Back at the penthouse they found Zuko still knocked out on the balcony. The Joker had not found Zuko, yet. "He got away," Katara confirmed to the Avatar. "Aang," she said timidly, "he-he did something to me in there. The Joker prevented me from bending."

"I know. I've experienced it myself, that night you found me in the east wing. I've been looking in on it and I believe he uses some sort of chi blocking. I'm not sure where he learned it but it's dangerous during a fight. He's quick too and even though he's crazy he's still very clever.

"How do you fight someone who always seems two steps ahead of you, someone who knows your next move and knows how to stop your other moves?" Aang asked Katara desperate for an answer.

"I-I don't know Aang, I don't know," she answered honestly looking between a frustrated Aang and an unconscious Zuko.


	4. Chapter 4

_I don't own anything so yeah...enjoy :)_

* * *

The Joker continued wreaking havoc across Republic City. The police had nearly given up at catching the psychotic crook. "What are we doing? Why aren't we going after this man?" a young waterbending officer asked her superior officer one day.

"Calm down rookie. We're doing everything we can at the moment. Not even the Avatar has taken this guy down yet. We need to be patient," the officer told her.

Korra shrugged and walked away frustrated. Sometimes she felt like the only one on the force with any real sense. At least, she seemed to be the only one that actually cared about the well-being of others.

True, she'd only been on the police force for the past six months, but shouldn't her opinion have some sort of say? She was a hot headed waterbender who had no tolerance for patience. Her parents had emigrated from the Southern Water Tribe to live in Republic City years ago. However, her father had been unable to find a stable job. He turned to gambling and piled up a massive gambling debt. One of the Triads he owed money to shot him. A few months later her mother had been killed in a mysterious car accident that many agreed was conducted by the Triad. Korra had been sent to grow up in Republic City's Home for Children. She had nearly grown up on the streets of Republic City. For once, it had led her to join the police rather than the Triads.

She had a cocky way about her, but she was always about helping others. Her dark hair was tied into a pony tail with two pony tails meeting to frame her face. Her eyes were a bright blue color. She was a very talented waterbender, learning how to fight in the streets until joining the police academy to define her waterbending skills.

Hope was one thing she would never give up, especially her hope in the Avatar.

"Hey!" a man yelled from the other side of the police complex, "special report! Turn the television on to Republic City News!"

They followed his instructions to see that the Joker had sent yet another video to Republic City's most notable news network.

They heard the Joker's maniacal laugh from behind the camera. "It's been five days. The Avatar still hasn't given himself up. I'll tell you what. If the Avatar hasn't revealed his real identity by the end of the day, the mayor is next on my hit list. Believe me, I will remember," the Joker said before the tape cut out to reveal the shaken news reporter.

Suddenly the police station kicked into action. Toph Beifong appeared ordering the men, "I want half of you on the mayors every move, protecting him constantly. I want the other half patrolling the streets reporting any trouble and searching for that man."

"Officer Beifong!" Korra called after Toph as she began climbing the stairs to the roof, "are you going to meet with him?"

Toph looked around. "Shouldn't you be uh…"

Frustrated, Korra walked away to find her polar bear dog. She had to go talk to someone, someone she knew could she could get through to.

.

"I saw it Appa," Aang said when Appa took the elevator into the ruins. Aang had a disgusted look on his face, but for once he was completely cleaned up.

"Going anywhere sir?" Appa asked curiously, even though he knew the answer.

"The people are becoming restless, asking for the Avatar's head. I can't let these killings continue. The Avatar has become a symbol for destruction rather than justice. I'm going to the District Attorney's meeting today in town. I have to fess up and reveal myself."

Appa shook his head. "You must endure this hate sir; endure it for the greater good of mankind."

"People are dying Appa, what would you have me do?"

The two took the elevator up to the main part of the house through the trap doors of the library. Just as Aang was preparing to leave, the door rang.

"Hi," Korra said out of breath at the door to Appa, "I need to speak with Mr. Gyatso."

"I'm afraid he was just on his way out. You'll have to make an appointment."

"Please, I really need to speak with him."

"How can I help you?" Aang appeared from within the manor.

Korra and Aang sat in the parlor. Impatiently, Korra told him, "Don't give yourself away."

"What?" Aang asked, acting confused.

"I-I know what you are. Look, I can tell. At the orphanage we used to tell stories about you, the orphan who despite everything had it all. Then, one day I saw everything. I saw that same look on your face that we all have, that mask to hide the anger and the guilt. We all wonder what could we have done to make everything different?" Korra explained.

"Why have you come here?"

"I wanted to tell you that you can't let the Joker win. You can't reveal yourself. Don't give into his demands. You still represent hope to so many, including me."

"I'm sorry, I have to go," Aang told her before he got up to leave, "Appa can show you out."

.

The press conference was crowded with concerned Republic City citizens and reporters.

Zuko stood before the crowd. "People of Republic City, we need to stay calm and united during these times of crisis's. We must not give in to the demands of terrorists."

Aang stood at the back of the crowd, ready to announce his true identity at any minute. Only a few people applauded what Zuko was saying. Most of the people looked dismayed. "No more citizen deaths!" one person shouted. "No more dead cops!" came the cries of another.

Aang took a deep breath ready to step forward.

"Fine," Zuko said, "the Avatar will be revealed and he will face his crimes…It's me. I am the Avatar."

The gasps rippled across the room. Their own District Attorney was the Avatar? Their own hero, who had put so many of the Triad groups behind bars in the court rooms was the vigilante breaking his own laws to deliver justice?

The officers began to cuff Zuko as cameras flashed. "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to be the villain," Zuko said as reporters asked for a comment.

As he was escorted into the basement of the police complex Katara caught up with him. "Zuko," she said flushed, "what are you thinking? You aren't him. You're not…"

"Katara," Zuko interrupted her patiently, "sometimes you have to be what you're not for the greater cause."

Police officers around Zuko began to applaud the District Attorney's bravery. Finally, he was receiving the respect he had deserved after all these years.

Republic City wept quietly. People were shocked at seeing their hero as a criminal. Were they right in asking for him to unmask himself? Would they regret it? Who would protect them against the Joker now? A dark cloud loomed over Republic City, preparing it for darker days.

.

"Appa," Katara said as she entered through the side door of the Gyatso Manor into the high tech kitchen. "Why did he let Zuko take the fall for him?"

She was angry. She was angry with Aang for being a coward and letting Zuko take the fall for him. She was angry at Zuko for needed to be a hero to Republic City. She was angry with the citizens of Republic City for calling for the Avatar's head. Most of all, she was angry at herself. She had allowed her past to get the best of her. However, this realization was a relief. She finally realized that she loved Zuko and that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. There would be no way she could ever be with Aang.

"He went down to the press conference," Appa said.

"And he just stood by…like a….like a…"

"I know, miss."

"Can you give him something," she asked the elderly butler as she reached into her purse to withdraw a loose scroll, "when the time is right?"

"Of course," Appa told her solemnly feeling as though this was meant to be a goodbye.

Katara smiled at Appa sadly. "I'll miss you Appa. Take good care of Aang."

.

Korra was among the officers escorting Zuko from his holding cell into the heavily guarded police van. They were to escort Zuko to a highly protective holding cell to await his trial in court.

"All clear!" Korra called out as they began escorting Zuko into the van.

Korra eyed the man with confusion. Why would he take the Avatars place? Perhaps he too understood the importance of the Avatar in Republic City and the hope the Avatar brought to the people. Without the Avatar the city was as good as gone to the Joker and the other criminals that once ran this city.

Zuko seemed so humbled at the moment. The officers hadn't even felt honorable tying him up. They knew he wouldn't firebend or hurt them. Tying him up would just feel like another act of betrayal toward him.

The van continued on the road toward the court house with the highly protective holding cell. It was led by two satomobiles and followed by a third satomobile.

"Obstruction!" a voice radioed into the walkie, "We need to take the tunnel route."

Korra couldn't see out from the back of the van but ahead of the satomobiles was a massive pile up of satomobiles lit aflame. They had no choice but to head into the tunnel of Republic City.

As they continued down into the tunnel a peculiar large truck drove up right among them. A few of the other vans were shot down.

"Whoa," Korra yelled as she felt the blasts aimed towards the other satomobiles. She climbed through the front to join the driver. "What's going on?"

Before the driver could answer she saw the Joker and a band of his henchmen on the truck next to their van. They were firing away. They wanted the Avatar. "Slam on the brakes," Korra instructed.

"I have. There's something behind us pushing us forward."

The lights in the tunnel turned off creating a dark scene. What was the Joker doing, Korra wondered. Then a mechanical bison shot past them. It was in compact mode allowing it a speedy flight.

"Just keep going forward, I'll see what I can do," Korra said.

She pulled out a fresh pouch of water. As a rocket headed toward their van, she waterbent the rocket in midair, making a loud explosion in the tunnel.

Another rocket was sent but before Korra could waterbend it away the bison blocked it from harming the van. Korra watched the bison fall against the far wall as the van zipped past.

"Thank you, Avatar," she said quietly before instructing the driver, "Take this next ramp up onto the main road."

"Who are you to be giving orders, Rookie?" the driver asked but followed anyway.

The Joker's truck continued to follow the van. Where was the Avatar? Korra wondered nervously. That blast couldn't have taken him out.

As though answering her question the Avatar appeared flying through the sky on his glider.

.

The Joker climbed to the front of the truck. "Can I drive please?" he asked the driver but took command anyway as he opened the door to kick the driver out.

"Well, I'll be, looks like we've found the right one boys," he said as the Avatar flew toward the truck on his glider.

Aang flew under the truck while airbending particular pressure points in the truck.

"He missed!" the Joker cried out. Seconds later though, the truck began to wobble as it flipped over.

Miraculously, the Joker and one of his henchmen survived the crash. "That is why we wear seat belts," the Joker laughed. He turned his attention toward the Avatar who was flying at him at an immeasurable speed. "Come on, hit me…I want you to do it…hit me!" the Joker yelled.

Just before he would have hit the Joker, Aang dived and fell across the pavement with his glider, slightly torn up.

The Joker laughed his signature crazy laugh. "You thought," he said standing over the Avatar, "you could defeat me with your crafty use of all four bending skills? Guess you were wrong."

"No, I guess you were wrong," the calm voice of Toph came from behind the Joker. Carefully, she pelted him with pieces of earth in the pressure points the Avatar had instructed him to earlier on the roof. The Joker had lost the use of his body as he swayed to the ground, unable to use his limbs.

Zuko jumped out of the van to see the Joker had fallen. He smiled victoriously. "I knew you would do the right thing," he said to the Avatar before the Avatar fled the scene.

Zuko was offered one phone call before he had to get into a car to go home. "Katara," he said over the phone.

"Zuko? Zuko? Are you alright? Oh spirits, I was so worried about you. Thank the spirits. I-I need to tell you something when we meet up."

.

That night the Joker was placed in a holding cell to await his trial.

Toph Beifong was promoted to Commissioner of the city for her valiant acts to save the city. She returned home to her daughter Lin to celebrate the promotion.

Aang returned to the manor with many questions still unresolved. Appa didn't have the heart to give him the letter at the time. He would wait until the morning.

Zuko never made it home.

Katara disappeared as well, although her disappearance was less noticeable.

The story continues for the next day.

* * *

_I hope you're enjoying! Thanks for the reviews so far, they mean a lot!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Sorry this chapter is really short but I'm saving the good stuff for coming up soon. Trust me, it is not over yet._

_I do not own batman/darknight or the avatar...if only_

* * *

But the story didn't continue the next day, it continued that night. Commissioner Toph angrily reentered the police station. She had gone all the way home to see her daughter Lin, only to be called back into the station.

Zuko was missing.

The Joker sat in the dark interrogation room awaiting the questions. "Zuko never made it home last night," she greeted the Joker, "where is he?"

"How would I know?" the Joker asked smugly, "I've been here all night. Ask them." He pointed at the dark one way window with many watching cops standing behind it.

Toph sighed. "I need a coffe," she grumbled before getting up to go to the door.

"Good cop, bad cop routine? I've seen it all before."

"Not exactly," Toph chuckled before leaving the room.

The lights turned out illuminating the Avatar behind the Joker. With a gust of air he pounded the Joker's head on to the table. "Where's Zuko?" he asked.

The Joker blinked a few times. "Calm down on the interrogation there."

"Where is he."

"Well, I'll say he could be one place or many places depending on the time. You know, I've been waiting to meet with you since our first encounter at the bank, remember that?" the Joker asked before taking a break to laugh at the Avatar's darkening face. "Yes, it seems that mighty Avatar was no match for me even back then. Look where I am now though. Look at all I've done and how I've turned this city crazy. It wasn't even that difficult. You even helped in your own way. Yes, you gave the people a false sense of hope, and when they saw everything was falling apart they turned on you and called for your head. Did you see that? Even if you stop me they'll always call for your head. There is no escaping that you will forever be an outcast in this city. They'll only want you when they need you. As soon as they don't they'll throw you to the dogs."

"You're garbage that kills for fun."

The Joker sighed. "I'm sorry that you can't see the truth in my ways. I am simply exposing the world a little chaos to break down their order. You see the triad bosses want your head. They see your death as order to their little worlds. But I know it'll never be the same. You've forever changed things and brought chaos to their world. They'll never be the same."

"Where is Zuko?"

"We're still on this? Really, I had assumed we had moved past this. I though we agreed on a little more chaos."

Aang grabbed a hold of the Joker by the neck and pinned him to the wall. "Where is he?" he demanded from the Joker.

"You have all these rules about the sacredness of life and you think they'll save you," the Joker barely said, "You'll have to break it if you plan to save them."

"Them?"

"You know, I thought for a minute maybe you actually were Zuko, the way you threw yourself after her. It made me realize something. I realized that you are a man, a man with weaknesses. Unfortunately for you, you revealed your weakness to me. Tell me does Zuko know about you and her?"

Aang felt a flash of fury. He ignited the room with a rageful fire. He blocked the door with a large slab of earth. The Joker laughed as he infuriated the Avatar. Aang nearly threw everything at the Joker. Water, earth, fire, air.

Standing over the hysterically laughing Joker he yelled, "Where are they?"

"Where are they?" over and over again.

"Relax," the Joker said weeping from his laughter. "I'm going to tell you where they are. That's the point. You have to choose between them."

"Where are they?"

"Fine. I'll tell you. She is on Fire Ferret lane and he is on Wolf bat Way. I'd hurry if I were you."

The wall of earth blocking the door fell as the Avatar stormed out of the interrogation room. "Which one are you going for?" Toph asked.

"Katara," Aang answered angrily to cover up his panic. He had to get to her as fast as he could. Who knew what state she was in?

He grabbed his glider and began flying toward Fire Ferret Lane. He just hoped he would make it in time.

.

Zuko awoke to a loud voice calling, "Hello?! Hello?"

"Katara?" he wondered aloud dazed and confused.

"Zuko!" the voice of Katara came from a radio, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah…I'm tied up to barrels of blasting jelly."

"I am too...Zuko they told me only one of us was going to make it out of this alive. They were going to have our friends choose between us."

"Don't worry Katara, they're…they're coming for you."

"Zuko…I'm worried."

"No, it's ok," Zuko said to her over the radio. He began to struggle with the ropes confining his hands. He couldn't firebend them off. Even though he seemed trapped he continued to struggle. As he struggled he fell to the floor, knocking over a canister of jelly. The jelly fell along the floor.

"Zuko?" Katara called out, "what's happening? Are you alright? Listen there isn't that much time. I know we'll be alright. I want you to know that my answer is yes. I will marry you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and you alone." There she had told him. This couldn't end, not here and not now.

.

The Avatar rushed into the building on Fire Ferret Lane. "No! Not me!" Zuko cried out. For a minute Aang was struck seeing that it was Zuko and not Katara. The Joker had tricked them.

Dismayed, the Avatar grabbed Zuko and pulled him out of the building. He wasn't fast enough though. As they were exiting the blasting jelly exploded. The fire ignited the jelly on Zuko's face. He screamed in horror and fell to the ground.

At that same time, on the other side of town, the building on Wolf bat Way exploded just as the police arrived. Katara was among the wreckage.

.

Ashes seemed to fall over Republic City that day as fire fighters tried to put out the fires from the explosions in both buildings. In the end only a burned building remained. It seemed as though nothing could rise from the ashes.


End file.
